Apparatus for piecing warp-threads.



M. WENZEL.

APPARATUS FOR PIEGING WARP THREADS. APPLIUATION FILED 11116.10, 1912.

1,098,308, Patented May 2.6, 1914.

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M. WENZEL.

APPARATUS FOR PIBGING WAEP THREADS. APPLIOATION FILED AUG. 1o, 1912.

1,098,308. y Patented May 26, 1914.

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Patented May 26, 1914.

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wLUQiBIA PLANOGHAPH co.. WASHINGTON. D,

M. WENZEL. APPARATUS PoR PIEGING WABP THREADS. APPLICATION FILED AUG.10, 1912.

1,098,308. Patented May 26, 1914.

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APPARATUS-FOR PIECING- WARP-THREADS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 26, i914.

Application led August 10, 1912. Serial No. 714,447. y f

To all whom t may conc-ern: v

Be it known that I, MAX WENZEL, a subject of the German Emperor, residing at 18 Miihlenstrasse, Spremberg, Germany, have invented certain new and useful improve- VInents in Apparatus for Piecing Warp- Threads, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object to provide improved apparatus for piecing Warp threads which are composed of material that cannot stand twisting, and which therefore for the purpose of being firmly pieced, are spun or whipped with a special thread.

In the accompanying,drawingsz-Figure, l 1 is a general side elevation, and Fig. 2 1s al plan of one form of apparatus embodyingV the present improvements. Figs. 3 to 7 illustrate diagrammatically the operation of the apparatus. Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a detail. Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the whipping appliance. Fig. 10 is a side elevation of the whipping` appliance shown closed. Fig. 11 is a cross section Vof the whipping appliance. Fig. 12 showsa detail. Figs. 13 and 14 are respectively a side elevation and a plan illustrating'the arrangement ofv the.

whipping apparatus on a loom.,

The parts c and c of the 'whipping appliance are rotatably mounted in slidable bearings h and i; they are prevented by pawls It, from rotating while in their open position. When the whipping ring is closed (Fig. 10) by the upward movement of the sliding bearings h and z', the parts `@,'ve are released by means of the stops c, r against which the tails m and n of the pawls 10,70-

strike. v

Y The whipping ring is driven by an endless cord Z. The driving pulley Z is mounted on a horizontal shaft 9 which is driven through a pair of bevel wheels 10, 10 from a vertical shaft 11. This shaft is driven by a cord drive 12 from the main shaft 13 that is itself driven through a worm 127 wormwheel 128 and bevell wheels 129, 130, from the motor shaft 131. The shaft 9 carries on its other end a worm 14 which-engages a worm wheel 15 on the shaft 16 of thecam disk g that produces the-upward movement of the sliding bearings h and i.' v

For the purpose of imparting to-and-fro motion to the whipping ring along the threads to be pieced together the frame T supporting the whipping ring is made capable of rotating on a vert-ical axis by means of vertical pivots 17, 17 in xed bearings ,'18, 18. The rotation is effected for instance by means of a straight rack 19 fand a curved rack 20 which is fixed on the lower pivot'17 fof the supporting. frame T. The rack 19 is guided in a straight line by suitable means i and carries a roller or stud 21 engaging in the cam groove 22 of a cam disk 23. The cam disk 23`is mounted on a shaft 24 that is `driven through spur wheelsV 25, 26 fromv the main shaft 13. The rotation of the cam disk i -n3produces longitudinal motion. of the rack 19* in both directions which motion is connected by the rack 20 into rotary motion of 'the supporting frameT in both directions.

The Whipping thread. spool 4 is fixed and located outside thewhipping ring e e. A Vsuitable length of whipping thread is conveyed to the said ring for each operation by a conveyer which pulls the said length of 'thread from the fixedV whipping thread spool i and places one end of thesaid length of thread within the range of the whipping ring which on commencing its rotation engages the thread and winds itin an annular groovein vits periphery. The whipping thread @coming from the spool 4 is guided .by'a fixedthread yguide 48, Fig. 8, and is held by anautomatically closing and laterally .moving clamp 49. This clamp is fixed to a lever 501which is pivoted on the fixed pin 51 and carries below the clamp 49 al thread brake 52 ywhich has the function of maintaining and regulating the tension of the thread, below the clamp. To the lever 50 Y is connected a connecting rod 53 which is Vcaused by a spring 54 (Fig. 1) to engage with its'freeend provided with a roller 53',

a tappet 55 on a vertically movable connecting rod 56. The tappet 55 moves the connecting rod 53 only during the descent of the connecting rod 56, because the roller-carrying end of the connecting rod 53 is pivoted in such a manner that it can retreat before the tappet 55 in the ascent of the connecting rod 56.

Normally the lever 50 is held by the springV 54 in its vertical position (shown in full lines in Fig. l), from which it is displaced for a short timeonly whilethe descending tappet 55 is movingpastthe end of the connecting rod 53, for the purpose of leaving a free path for the thread conveyer 57 when the lattermoves down into its receiving position (shown in full lines in Fig. 1).v The thread conveyer 57 consists of a lever pivoted on a fixed pin 58; its shorter arm is connected to a connecting rod 59 which is caused to move up and down by a cam 60 whereby the thread conveyer 57 is made to rock in a vertical plane.

For the purpose of gripping the whipping thread c, the conveyer' is provided at its forward end with an automatically closing clamp 61, the fixed jaw of which is constituted by an extension of the conveyer lever, while the movable jaw has an arm 62 with a projection 63 (Fig. 9). When the conveyer assumes its lowest position the projection 63 slides along an opener arm 64 (shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1) which is situated at a downwardly diminishing distance from the vertical rocking plane of the conveyer and is mounted with a weighting lever 65 and a ring of ratchet teeth 66 on a shaft 67.

In the upward movement of the connecting rod 56, the arm 64 is rotated into its operative position (shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1) in opposition to the action of its weighting, by means of a pulling member 68 which is attached at one end on the periphery of a pulley 69 fixed to the arm 64 and at its other end to the vertically movable connecting rod 56 and passes over a fixed pulley 70. The arm 64 is held in its operative position by means of the ratchet teeth 66 in combination with a spring latch 71 which is disengaged, when the connecting rod 56 has reached its lower position by means of a bell crank lever 72, a connecting rod 7 3 and a lever 74, 75, the arm 75 of which extends under the lower end of the connecting rod 56. The lever 74, 75 is pivoted on a fixed pin 76 and the bell crank lever 72 is pivoted on a fixed pin 77. lV hen the lever 74, 75 is released in the upward movement of the connecting rod 56, the latch 71 is forced by its spring again into engagement with the ratchet teeth 66 so that the opener arm 64 which has been turned back into its operative position by the upwardly moved connecting rod 56, is locked in that position.

l/V hen the conveyer is in its lowest position and the opener arm 64 rocks into its inoperative position (shown in full lines in Fig. 1) after its release, the opener arm leaves the projection 68 on the clamp arm 62 and the clamp closes. This causes the conveyer to grip the thread which is held above by it by means of the holder clamp 49. This holder clamp 49 must now be opened to release the thread c and allow the conveyer clamp 61 to pass through. The opening o f the clamp 49 is effected by a hook or finger 78 on a connecting rod 79 whichis moved in opposition to a spring 80 by the opener arm 64 on the latter assuming its inoperative position, a side pin 81 on the connecting rod 79 being moved along by the opener arm. The end of the connecting rod 79 carrying the hook or finger 78 is guided by means of a side pin 82 (Fig. 8) in a fixed cam slot 88 in such a manner that at the end of its movement it is raised into its position of rest, whereas at the commencement of its operative position it moved downward in order to allow the finger to enter between the legs of the clamping jaws 49 and thus move the latter apart so as to open the clamp. The connecting rod 56 (Fig. 1) is pushed up by powerful springs 84 and moved down forcibly by the conveyer lever. Its upward movement is limited by a fixed stop 85 against which a projection 86 on the connecting rod 56 strikes. Consequently the connecting rod 56 can follow the upward movement of the conveyer lever only as far as the striking of the projection 86 on the pin 85. The conveyer lever moves on only for a small distance and its clamp is now situated at about the middle of the whipping ring e, e which is driven as hereinbefore described.

The whipping ring e, e (Figs. 9 and 11) has in addition to its groove for the driving Y cord, a second groove 87 and at its edge at a recess in the outer border of the groove 87 a gripper 88. In order that this gripper which projects slightly beyond the front plane of the whipping ring shall be able to engage the thread that is conveyed to it, the conveyer must move with its clamp end toward the whipping ring in the axial direction of the latter. For this purpose the forward clamp-carrying part of the arm 57 of the conveyer is pivoted to the rear portion by a hinge 89. The extended position of the forward part of the arm 57 is maintained by a suitably arranged leaf spring 90 (Figs. 2 and 9). The forward part of the conveyer arm has an extension 91 toward the pivot 58 and this extension is acted upon by an eccentric 92 (Figs. 1 and 2) which is rotated by a chain drive 93 from the main shaft 13 at equal velocity therewith.

The conveyer cla-mp at first holds the whipping thread c firmly until the said thread has been sufficiently wound around the ends of the threads to be pieced together, by the operation of the whipping ring which is set rotating on taking up the whipping thread. The conveyer then moves back into its receiving position (shown in full lines in Fig. 1 For this purpose the conveyer clamp must first release the conveyed thread. This is effected by a clamp-opener mounted on the conveyer and consisting of a wedge 95 (Figs. 1 and 9) on the arm 96 of a lever 96, 98, pivoted on a pin 97 on the conveyer 57. The shorter arm 98 (Fig. 12) of this lever is acted upon by a spring 99 which has a tendency to force the opener into its position of rest and has a pin 100 which comes under the influence of a stop 161 on the connecting rod 56 as soon as the conveyer arm begins its downward movement. This produces a rotation of the lever 96, 98 on its pivot 97 which drives the wedge 95 in front of the clamp leg 62 and thereby rotates the clamp leg in such a direction as to open the same. ln the further downward movement of the conveyer a stud 102 on it acts upon the upper end of the connecting rod 56 and moves the latter down with it.

Before the conveyer arm yields the whipping thread it has engaged up to the whipping ring, the lower end of the thread must be severed from the spool thread that is be ing held by the clamp 49 which has been closed meanwhile. This is effected by shears 103 (Fig. 8) mounted on the clamp 49, the movable blade of which is acted upon by a lever 104, 105 which is pivoted on a fixed pivot 106 and receives its operative movement from a cam 107. The cam 107 is mounted on a horizontal shaft 108 (Figs. 1 and 2) which is driven from a shaft 109 parallel thereto through chain wheels 110, 111 and chain 112. The shaft 109 is driven from the main shaft 13 through chain wheels 113, 114 and chain 115. The clamp 49 `is closed again at the end of the upward movef ment of the conveyer by the upward movement of the connecting rod 56 which returns the opener arm 64 into its operative position, the said arm and the spring 80 effecting the return of the opener finger 78 into its position of rest (Fig. 8).

The operation of the improved apparatus is as follows On the completion of a piecing operation the whipping ring e, e is opened the pieced pair of threads is romoved and a fresh pair of threads to be pieced together is introduced into the whipping ring e, c. For the purpose of receiving a portion of the thread the conveyer 57 now moves down into the receiving position (Fig. 3). In the last part of the downward movement of the conveyer the tappet 55 on the connectng rod 56 forces the clamp 49 out of the path of the conveyer (the clamp returning into its operative position in the course of the continued movement), so that the whipping thread 0 held by the clamp is moved into the `clamp 61 of the conveyer. On arriving into its lowest position the connecting rod 56 disengages the latch 71of the clamp opener 64 (Fig. 4), which is in operative position during the descent of the conveyer, so that the opener arm 64 rocks into its position of rest and the clamp 61 of the conveyer 57 closes. At the same time the clamp 49 is opened by the opener-finger 7 8 for the purpose of releasing the whipping thread c. This allows the clamp 61 of the conveyer to pass up freely between the jaws of the opened clamp 49. The upward movement of the conveyer now begins. ln this movement the tappet 55 moves idly past the end of the connecting rod 53 because of the collapse of the end of the connecting rod coo-perating with it. In the further movement the opener arm 64 is rotated back into its operative position (Fig. 5), being held again by the again released latch 71. At the same time the clamp 49 closes as a result of the return of the finger 78 into its position of rest for the purpose of again holding the whipping thread. (Fig. 6). When the conveyer has reached its highest position the whipping thread is severed at its lower end and the clamp 61 of the conveyer is moved by the cam 92 toward the whipping ring, whereupon the latter is released so as tovbe capable of rotating. In its rotation the whipping ring takes up the whipping thread c in its annular groove 87 and winds it around the threads to be pieced together, the winding appliance receiving toand-fromotion. The part of the arm 57 carrying the clamp 61 then rocks back into its extended position and, after a sufficient length of the'whipping thread has been wound around the threads to lbe pieced together, it releases the end of the thread which it holds, the clamp 61 being opened by the wedge-shaped opener 95 at the com- -mencement of the renewed descent of the conveyer 57 (Fig. 7 The hereinbefore described operation of the apparatus is now repeated.

The piecing apparat-us is advanced across the fixed warps as usual in most piecing and tying machines, and the piecing together of the threads is effected in bunches in the manner indicated in Figs. 13 and 14. The piecing framing is composed of two round supporting and guiding bars 122 and 123 connected rigidly together at their ends by connecting members which also serve for xing the framing in the loom or on a separate support. The bars 122 and 123 serve also as guides for the base plate 125 of the piecing apparatus with guide lugs or eyes for the bars.

For the purpose of moving the piecing apparatus across the fixed warps there is employed a conveyer screw 124, for which a nut 126 is provided on the underside of the base plate 125 of the piecing apparatus. This screw is adapted to be rotated` in the forward direction by a feed mechanism according to the closeness of the warp and backward by hand. The two warps a and Z) are fixed over lease rods 116, 117, 118, 119 f in bunches. Each pair of bunches is treated by itself. For this purpose the threads are brushed straight and laid parallel and placed in clamps 120, 121 in such a manner that the ends of the threads of the warps a and 7J lie close one over the other. The clamps 120, 121 may be fixed to the base plate of theV piecing apparatus.

The piercing apparatus isV brought in front of the prepared portion of the warp as shown in Fig. 14 and then the feed mechiio anism of the screw conveyer 124, 126, and the driving mechanism of the pieoing apparatus are started. The grippers (Z, d bring the threads which it is desired to piece together, in the usual manner and if required with the aid of special separating tools, between the clamps 2, 2 and 3, 3 of the piecing apparatus, and the piecing together of the threads is effected in the hereinbefore described manner. According as the piecings are completed the piecing apparatus is moved forward by the screw conveyer until all the threads of a bunch have been pieced together. The pieced threads find a place in the specially provided recess f in the supporting frame T (Fig. l) o-f the whipping apparatus. The piecing apparatus is then pushed back in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. l-I for a distance equal to the width of the neXt bunch. rlhis fresh portion of the warps is then prepared in the hereinbefore described manner and subjected to treatment of the piecing apparatus and so on.

lVhat I claim is 1. In an apparatus for piecing warp threads by whipping the combination of a thread gripper and a thread holder for holding the warp threads in lapped position; a rotary whipping device adapted when rotated to whip the whipping thread around the lapped portion of the threads; means for reciprocating the whipping cevice forwardly and baclrwardly along said iapped portion; and means for continuously rotating said whipping device during said reciprocation including both the forward and nackt/'ard movements thereof.

2. In an apparatus for piet-,ing warp threads by whipping, the combination of means for holding the warp threads in lapped position; a rotary whipping device adapted, when rotated, to whip the whipping thread upon the lapped portions of the warp threads; means for rotating the whipping device; means for causing relative axial movement between' the whipping device and the lapped portions; and means for causing relative motion between the lapped p ortion and the whipping device in direction radial to the whipping' device for presenting said portions to the whipping device.

3. In an apparatus for piecing warp threads, the combination of means for di viding the cording lengths of the whipping thread into sections for one operation; agripper; means for feeding the divided cording lengths through the gripper; a holding device for holding the head threads in posi-- tion to be whipped by the whipping threads; a rotary whipping device for whipping the whipping thread around the lapped portions of the warp threads; means for rotating the whipping device; and means reciprocating the whipping device both backward during the rotation thereof.

4. In an apparatus for piecing together warp threads by whipping the lapped ends thereof, the combination of a rotary and reciprocating whipping device for whipping said lapped ends; a thread holder; a thread severing device; means for rot-ating, and means for simultaneously imparting a continuous tc-and-fro motion to said whipping appliance until a sufficient amount of the whipping thread has been whipped around said lapped ends; a gripper for conveying the whipping thread on the completion of the whipping to said holder; and means for severing the thread of such conveyance.

5. In an apparatus for piecing together warp threads by whipping, the combination of a whipping device capable of rotary and also to andfro motion; a thread holder for the warp threads; means for rotating the whipping device continuously during said to-and-fro motion; a frame supporting the whipping device, capable of motion across plane of rotation of the whipping device; and means for imparting to said frame to-and-fro motion along said warp threads.

6. In an apparatus for piecir-.g together warp threads by whipping, the combination of a whipping thread spool, and a whipping ring having a peripheral thread groove and capable of rotary to-and-fro motion; a movable thread-clamp; a rocking thread conveyer; an automatically closing threadclamp; a thread gripper; a thread severing device, means for rotating said whipping ring around said warp threads, means for imparting to-and-fro motion of said ring along said warp threads; means for rocking said thread conveyer for causing the whipping device to receive into its peripheral thread groove a measured length of the whipping thread drawn by said conveyer from said` spool; a movable thread clamp for holding said whipping thread at its free end; me ans for opening said movable thread clamp to release the whipping thread which is swung up by said conveyer axially to and toward the whipping appliance, whereupon the latter in rotating takes up the whipping thread after said movable thread clamp has again gripped the lower portion of the whipping thread which has been severed by said severing de vice above said movable clamp.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

MAX VVENZEL.

lilitnesses lvionninran HAUPT, HENRY I-IASPER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for iive cents each, by addressing the Commissioner o1 Patents, Washington, D. C.

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